The present invention relates generally to the fastening of objects using plastic fasteners and relates more particularly to a novel plastic fastener, a novel fastener clip, a novel fastener dispensing tool and a novel method of fastening objects.
Certain articles of clothing, most notably men""s dress shirts, are often packaged and sold in a folded condition so as to minimize any wrinkling of the article and so as to present the article in an otherwise flattering manner. Typically, the article is maintained in a folded condition by means of one or more straight metal pins, each of said straight metal pins typically comprising an elongated shaft terminating at one end in a sharp tip designed to penetrate the article and at the other end in a rounded head designed not to penetrate the article. Typically in use, the article is folded, and a plurality of said pins are used to maintain the article in its folded condition by securing the article to itself at a plurality of different locations. Often, in the case of men""s dress shirts, one or more of said pins are additionally used to secure the shirt to a piece of cardboard or to a similar backing material. The act of using straight metal pins to maintain an article of clothing in a folded condition is typically referred to in the art as xe2x80x9cshirt-pinning.xe2x80x9d
Although straight metal pins have achieved widespread use in maintaining articles of clothing in a folded condition, certain shortcomings are associated therewith. One such shortcoming is that no suitable tool exists for dispensing such pins into an article of clothing; consequently, the pins must be inserted manually. As can readily be appreciated, the repeated insertion of such pins into articles of clothing, over time, can become both physically and mentally taxing. Another shortcoming associated with the use of straight metal pins is that the pins, as noted above, have sharp ends, which can cause injury both to the person who must insert the pin into the article and to the person (i.e., consumer) who must remove the pin from the article. Moreover, once the pins are removed from the article, they must be disposed of properly to avoid injury to others. Still another shortcoming associated with the use of straight metal pins is that such pins, when inserted, may cause damage to the article, either by snagging and tearing the article or by creating a conspicuous insertion hole in the article. Still yet another shortcoming associated with the use of straight metal pins is that such pins, once inserted into an article of clothing, can be difficult to access and manipulate in such a way as to enable their removal.
Plastic fasteners of the type comprising an elongated flexible filament having a first enlargement at one end thereof and a second enlargement at the opposite end thereof are well-known and have been widely used in the attachment of merchandise tags to articles of commerce, in the coupling or re-coupling of buttons to garments, in the binding of a shoe upper during the process of shoe-lasting, and in various packaging applications. In one common type of plastic fastener (see, for example, FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,872, which patent is incorporated herein by reference), the first enlargement has the shape of a first transverse bar and the second enlargement has the shape of a paddle or the shape of a second transverse bar, the first transverse bar and the paddle (or second transverse bar) extending in planes parallel to one another. In another common type of plastic fastener (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,004, which patent is incorporated by reference), the first enlargement has the shape of a transverse bar and the second enlargement has the shape of a knob or pin head. In still another common type of plastic fastener (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,183, which patent is incorporated herein by reference), the first enlargement has the shape of a transverse bar or the shape of a plug and the second enlargement has the shape of a socket, said socket being adapted to receive said transverse bar or said plug.
Plastic fasteners of the various types described above are typically molded as parts of a unitary fastener clip. An example of such a fastener clip is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,657, which patent is incorporated herein by reference. The clip of the aforementioned ""657 patent includes a plurality of fasteners, each of said fasteners comprising a flexible filament having a first transverse bar (or xe2x80x9ccross-barxe2x80x9d) at one end thereof and a paddle or a second transverse bar (or xe2x80x9ccross-barxe2x80x9d) at the opposite end thereof, the transverse bar and the paddle (or second transverse bar) of each fastener extending in planes parallel to one another. The fasteners are arranged relative to one another so that the respective transverse bars are spaced apart and oriented side-by-side and parallel to one another and so that the respective paddles (or second transverse bars) are spaced apart and oriented side-by-side and parallel to one another. The clip of the foregoing ""657 patent also includes a runner bar, said runner bar extending perpendicularly relative to the respective transverse bars and being connected to each of the transverse bars by a severable connector. The clip of said ""657 patent further includes a severable member interconnecting each pair of adjacent paddles (or second transverse bars).
Several commercial embodiments of the aforementioned fastener clip have been sold by the present assignee, Avery Dennison Corporation, as DENNISON(copyright) SWIFTACH(copyright) fastener clips. DENNISON(copyright) SWIFTACH(copyright) fastener clips comprising fasteners of the type having a cross-bar at one end of a flexible filament and a paddle at the opposite end of the flexible filament are generally made of polypropylene or nylon and are typically used to attach merchandise tags and the like to articles of clothing. The filaments of such fasteners are typically at least about 12.5 mm in length. DENNISON(copyright) SWIFTACH(copyright) fastener clips comprising fasteners of the type having a first cross-bar at one end of a flexible filament and a second cross-bar at the opposite end of the flexible filament are made of nylon and are used to attach merchandise tags and the like to a wide variety of articles of commerce. In addition, such fasteners are used in shoe-lasting applications and in packaging applications, where the high tensile strength afforded by the use of nylon in the fastener is desirable. The filaments of such fasteners are typically at least about 6.35 mm in length.
As far as the present inventors are aware, the above-described fastener clip, exemplified by the family of DENNISON(copyright) SWIFTACH(copyright) fastener clips, has not been used to maintain an article of clothing, such as a dress shirt, in a folded condition.
A second type of fastener clip (or xe2x80x9cfastener stockxe2x80x9d) is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,078, inventor Bone, issued Aug. 2, 1977, which patent is incorporated herein by reference. In said patent, the fastener stock comprises two undivided elongated and continuous plastic side members having a plurality of plastic cross links coupled to and between each of said side members, each of the links being preferably spaced equidistantly apart from each other. The fastener stock is designed to be separated or divided, e.g., by cutting, severing, rupturing or shearing the side members, to provide a plurality of fasteners, each of said fasteners preferably having a substantially H shape.
A commercial embodiment of the aforementioned fastener stock has been sold by the present assignee, Avery Dennison Corporation, as DENNISON(copyright) PLASTIC STAPLE(trademark) fasteners. PLASTIC STAPLE(trademark) fasteners are typically made of polyurethane and are often used to attach tags, at two distinct points, to pants and similar clothing articles. It is the understanding of the present inventors that, for a limited time in the past, a third party used PLASTIC STAPLE(trademark) fasteners to xe2x80x9cpinxe2x80x9d shirts, albeit not dress shirts or other shirts of a fine material, so as to maintain the shirts in a folded condition. It is the understanding of the present inventors that the aforementioned securing was achieved using a dual needle fastener dispensing tool of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,076 and was performed by folding the shirt, inserting both needles of the tool entirely through the folded-over article and then dispensing both cross-bars through the needles and the folded article so that both cross-bars were positioned on one side of the article, with the filament connecting the two cross-bars extending over to the opposite side of the article. It is further believed by the present inventors that the aforementioned use of such fasteners to xe2x80x9cpinxe2x80x9d shirts was discontinued because PLASTIC STAPLE(trademark) fasteners did not have sufficient tensile strength to maintain the shirt in its folded condition (PLASTIC STAPLE(trademark) fasteners typically having a tensile strength of about 1.2-1.4 pounds).
Tools (often referred to as xe2x80x9ctagging gunsxe2x80x9d) for dispensing individual fasteners from multifastener clips of the two different types described above are known, examples of such tools including the Dennison(copyright) Mark II(trademark) SWIFTACH(copyright) tool, as well as those tools disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,772,073, 5,683,025, 5,024,365, 4,533,076, 4,456,161, 4,121,487, and 4,456,123, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Other patents that may be of interest include U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,666, inventor Bone, issued Sep. 17, 1963; U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,033, inventor Kunreuther, issued Jan. 14, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,799, inventor Graham, issued Nov. 7, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,872, inventor Merser, issued Jun. 21, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,657, inventor Lankton, issued May 22, 1973, U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,718, inventor Kato et al., issued Apr. 28, 1987; and U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 32,332, inventor Kato, re-issued Jan. 20, 1987, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel plastic fastener.
Therefore, according to one aspect of the invention, a plastic fastener is provided, said plastic fastener comprising (a) a flexible filament, said flexible filament having a first end and a second end, said flexible filament having a tensile strength of about 2-4 lbs; (b) an inserting element disposed at said first end, said inserting element being dimensioned to permit its insertion through a garment and, once inserted therethrough, to be retained by said garment; and (c) a retaining element disposed at said second end, said retaining element being dimensioned to prevent said flexible filament from being pulled completely through said garment.
According to another aspect of the invention, a plastic fastener is provided, said plastic fastener comprising (a) a flexible filament, said flexible filament having a first end and a second end, said flexible filament having a tensile strength of about 2 lbs., a length of approximately 4.3 mm, and a diameter of approximately 0.2 mm; (b) a first transverse bar disposed at said first end; and (c) a second transverse bar disposed at said second end; (d) wherein each of said first and second transverse bars has a length of approximately 1.8 mm, a width of approximately 0.5 mm and a height of approximately 0.5 mm.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a plastic fastener is provided, said plastic fastener comprising (a) a flexible filament, said flexible filament having a first end and a second end, said flexible filament having a length of approximately 3-5 mm; (b) an inserting element disposed at said first end, said inserting element being dimensioned to permit its insertion through a garment and, once inserted therethrough, to be retained by said garment; and (c) a retaining element disposed at said second end, said retaining element being dimensioned to prevent said flexible filament from being pulled completely through said garment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel fastener clip.
Therefore, according to one aspect of the invention, a fastener clip is provided, said fastener clip comprising (a) a first fastener, said first fastener comprising a flexible filament having a first enlarged end and a second enlarged end, said flexible filament having a length of approximately 3-5 mm; (b) a second fastener, said second fastener comprising a flexible filament having a first enlarged end and a second enlarged end; (c) said first fastener and said second fastener being arranged in a parallel, side-by-side, spaced relationship; (d) a first connector post connecting said first enlarged end of said first fastener to said first enlarged end of said second fastener; and (e) a second connector post connecting said second enlarged end of said second fastener to said second enlarged end of said second fastener.
According to another aspect of the invention, a fastener clip is provided, said fastener clip comprising (a) a first fastener, said first fastener comprising a flexible filament having a first enlarged end and a second enlarged end, said flexible filament having a tensile strength of approximately 2-4 lbs.; (b) a second fastener, said second fastener comprising a flexible filament having a first enlarged end and a second enlarged end; (c) said first fastener and said second fastener being arranged in a parallel, side-by-side, spaced relationship; (d) a first connector post connecting said first enlarged end of said first fastener to said first enlarged end of said second fastener; and (e) a second connector post connecting said second enlarged end of said second fastener to said second enlarged end of said second fastener.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a fastener clip is provided, said fastener clip comprising (a) a first fastener, said first fastener comprising a flexible filament having a first enlarged end and a second enlarged end, said flexible filament having a tensile strength of approximately 2 lbs. and a length of approximately 4.3 mm; (b) a second fastener, said second fastener comprising a flexible filament having a first enlarged end and a second enlarged end; (c) said first fastener and said second fastener being identical to one another and being arranged in a parallel, side-by-side, spaced relationship; (d) a first connector post connecting said first enlarged end of said first fastener to said first enlarged end of said second fastener; and (e) a second connector post connecting said second enlarged end of said second fastener to said second enlarged end of said second fastener.
According to still yet another aspect of the invention, a fastener clip is provided, said fastener clip comprising (a) a first fastener, said first fastener comprising (i) a flexible filament having a first end and a second end, (ii) a first enlargement disposed at said first end, and (iii) a second enlargement disposed at said second end; (b) a third enlargement; said third enlargement being severably connected to said first enlargement; (c) a fourth enlargement, said fourth enlargement not being directly interconnected to said third enlargement, said fourth enlargement being severably connected to said second enlargement.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel method of fastening objects.
Therefore, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of fixing an article of clothing to itself, said method comprising the steps of (a) providing a plastic fastener, said plastic fastener comprising (i) a flexible filament, said flexible filament having a first end, a second end, and a length, said length being suitable to fixedly retain the article of clothing against itself, (ii) an inserting element disposed at said first end, said inserting element being dimensioned to enable its insertion through the article of clothing and, once inserted therethrough, to be retained by the article of clothing, and (iii) a retaining element disposed at said second end, said retaining element being dimensioned to prevent said flexible filament from being pulled completely through the article of clothing; and (b) inserting said inserting element of said plastic fastener into and completely through the article of clothing at at least a pair of locations therein, with said retaining element not being inserted into the article of clothing.
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of fixing an article of commerce to a support is provided, said method comprising the steps of (a) providing a plastic fastener, said plastic fastener comprising (i) a flexible filament, said flexible filament having a first end and a second end, (ii) an inserting element disposed at said first end, said inserting element being dimensioned to enable its insertion through the article of commerce and the support and, once inserted therethrough, to be retained thereby, and (iii) a retaining element disposed at said second end, said retaining element being dimensioned to prevent said flexible filament from being pulled completely through the article of commerce and the support; and (b) inserting said inserting element of said plastic fastener into and completely through the article of commerce and the support, with said retaining element not being inserted into either the article or the support, in such a way as to fix the article of commerce to the support.
According to still another aspect of the invention, a method of securing an article of commerce to a support is provided, said method comprising the steps of (a) providing a plastic fastener, said plastic fastener comprising (i) a flexible filament, said flexible filament having a first end, a second end, a tensile strength of approximately 2-4 lbs. and a length of approximately 3-5 mm; (ii) an inserting element disposed at said first end, said inserting element being dimensioned to enable its insertion through the article of commerce and the support and, once inserted therethrough, to be retained thereby, and (iii) a retaining element disposed at said second end, said retaining element being dimensioned to prevent said flexible filament from being pulled completely through the article of commerce and the support in the direction of said inserting element; and (b) inserting said inserting element of said plastic fastener into and completely through the article of commerce and the support.
It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a novel fastener dispensing tool.
Therefore, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a hand-held fastener dispensing tool for dispensing a fastener of the type comprising a flexible filament having an enlargement at one end thereof, said fastener dispensing tool comprising (a) a casing, said casing being provided with a needle opening; (b) a hollow, slotted needle, said hollow, slotted needle being slidably movable back and forth between a retracted position disposed entirely within said casing and an extended position extending through said needle opening, said hollow, slotted needle being adapted to receive the enlargement of said fastener; (c) an ejector rod, said ejector rod being slidably movable back and forth through said hollow, slotted needle to eject the enlargement disposed therein; and (d) an anvil coupled to said casing and extending in front of said needle opening, said anvil being positioned so that said hollow, slotted needle, when in said extended position, does not extend therebeyond.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a fastener dispensing tool, said fastener dispensing tool comprising (a) a gun-shaped casing, said gun-shaped casing comprising a handle portion and a barrel portion, said barrel portion being provided with an opening; (b) a needle carrier, said needle carrier being slidably mounted in said barrel portion; (c) a hollow, slotted needle, said hollow, slotted needle being coupled to said needle carrier and being insertable back and forth through said opening in said casing; (d) an ejector rod carrier, said ejector rod carrier being slidably mounted in said barrel portion; (e) an ejector rod, said ejector rod being coupled to said ejector rod carrier and being insertable back and forth through said hollow, slotted needle; (f) a linking member coupled to said needle carrier and selectively engageable with said ejector rod carrier for coupling and decoupling said needle carrier to and from said ejector rod carrier so that said needle carrier is caused to slide back and forth in said barrel portion only during a portion of the movement of said ejector rod carrier; and (g) a triggering mechanism, said triggering mechanism comprising a trigger, said trigger being pivotally mounted in said casing and extending partially through said handle portion thereof for manual actuation, said triggering mechanism further comprising a lever disposed within said casing, said lever being pivotally mounted at a first end on a first pin, said first pin being fixed to said trigger, said lever being pivotally mounted at a second end on a second pin, said second pin being fixed to said ejector rod carrier.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a fastener dispensing tool for dispensing individual fasteners from a fastener clip, said fastener dispensing tool comprising (a) a casing, said casing being provided with an opening; (b) a hollow, slotted needle, said hollow, slotted needle being slidably movable back and forth through said opening in said casing; (c) an ejector rod, said ejector rod being slidably movable back and forth through said hollow, slotted needle; and (d) a feed guide, said feed guide being stationarily mounted in said casing behind said hollow, slotted needle, said feed guide defining a front portion of a feed track and comprising a stage at the end of said feed track off of which an individual fastener from a fastener clip is loaded into said hollow, slotted needle by said ejector rod.
According to still yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a fastener dispensing tool for dispensing individual fasteners from a fastener clip, said fastener dispensing tool comprising (a) a casing, said casing being provided with an opening; (b) a hollow, slotted needle, said hollow, slotted needle being slidably movable back and forth between a retracted position and an extended position extending through said opening in said casing; (c) an ejector rod, said ejector rod being slidably movable back and forth between a withdrawn position disposed behind said hollow, slotted needle and an advanced position extending through said hollow, slotted needle; (d) a trigger mechanically coupled to said casing; (e) first coupling means, coupling said trigger to said hollow, slotted needle, for moving said hollow, slotted needle from said retracted position to said extended position and then back to said retracted position during a trigger stoke; and (f) second coupling means, coupling said trigger to said ejector rod, for moving said ejector rod from said withdrawn position to said advanced position and then back to said withdrawn position during a trigger stoke; (g) wherein said first coupling means and said second coupling means are designed so that said ejector rod withdraws from said advanced position together with said hollow, slotted needle as said hollow, slotted needle moves from said extended position to said retracted position.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a fastener dispensing tool, said fastener dispensing tool comprising (a) a casing, said casing being shaped to receive, entirely within said casing, a clip of fasteners, each of said fasteners in said clip comprising a flexible filament having a first enlarged portion at a first end thereof and a second enlarged portion at a second end thereof; (b) exactly one hollow, slotted needle coupled to said casing, said hollow, slotted needle being adapted to receive the first enlarged portion of a fastener; and (c) an ejector rod disposed within said casing and insertable into said hollow, slotted needle for ejecting from said hollow, slotted needle an enlarged portion of a fastener disposed therein.
According to still a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a fastener dispensing tool, said fastener dispensing tool comprising (a) a casing, said casing being shaped to receive, entirely within said casing, a clip of fasteners, each of said fasteners in said clip comprising a flexible filament having a first enlarged portion at a first end thereof and a second enlarged portion at a second end thereof; (b) a hollow, slotted needle coupled to said casing, said hollow, slotted needle being adapted to receive the first enlarged portion of a fastener; (c) wherein said feed track terminates behind said hollow, slotted needle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said hollow, slotted needle; and (d) an ejector rod disposed within said casing and insertable into said hollow, slotted needle for ejecting from said hollow, slotted needle an enlarged portion of a fastener disposed therein.
Additional objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth, in part, in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments for practicing the invention. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.